Nintendo denies that a Switch Pro 4K model is in the works
Nintendo has denied a report claiming that it provided software toolkits to some game companies in order for them to develop 4K games for the Nintendo Switch.
In a statement released on Thursday, Nintendo refuted Bloomberg's report that numerous developers are working on 4K games using a software toolkit supplied by the Japanese company.
"A news report on Sept. 30, 2021 (JST) falsely claims that Nintendo is supplying tools to drive game development for a Nintendo Switch with 4K support," it said in a statement. "To ensure correct understanding among our investors and customers, we want to clarify that this report is not true."
"We also want to restate that, as we announced in July, we have no plans for any new model other than Nintendo Switch – OLED Model," it added.
A news report on Sept. 30, 2021(JST) falsely claims that Nintendo is supplying tools to drive game development for a Nintendo Switch with 4K support. To ensure correct understanding among our investors and customers, we want to clarify that this report is not true. (1/2)
— 任天堂株式会社（企業広報・IR） (@NintendoCoLtd) September 30, 2021
According to Bloomberg, employees from 11 game companies said "their teams were in possession of Nintendo’s 4K development kit for the Switch."
"By the time Nintendo showed off the new console in July, the company had already handed out the 4K kits to outside developers and asked them to design software to support the higher resolution," Bloomberg said.
The employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed that the companies range from "large publishers to small studios and include at least one that has never made a console game before, Zynga Inc."
"A development kit, which is used to test unfinished games, is a standard instrument in the game-making process," the news outfit explained. "The Nintendo Switch kit contains extra memory to accommodate debugging software and additional ports to facilitate a connection to a computer but otherwise has similar capabilities to the hardware that customers would have at home. The kit for the original Switch, like the consumer products, transmits video to a TV or monitor at 1080p resolution. The new one does 4K."
The Japanese company's latest offering, the Nintendo Switch (OLED model), is slated to launch on Oct. 8. Unlike its competitors, the new model, previously rumored as the Nintendo Switch Pro, does not include 4K support. The latest console, however, comes with a new 7-inch OLED screen, a wide adjustable stand for tabletop mode, a new dock with a wired LAN port, 64GB of internal storage, and enhanced audio for handheld and tabletop play.
Prior to Nintendo's announcement of the Switch's OLED variant in July, Bloomberg reported that the long-rumored Switch Pro Model will use a new Nvidia chip that will allow the console to display games in 4K resolution when connected to a TV.
(Images from Nintendo)